Railway car floor construction



Dec. 21, 1943. M. FQ scHMl-rz,

RAILWAY CAR FLOOR CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 1, 1942 Dec. 21, 1943. M. F. scHMlTz yRAILWAY CAR FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Junel; 1942 2 sheets-sheet 2 [kwa/ahr Patented Dec. 21, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to floor construction and is more particularly concerned with improvements in heavy duty floors such as are used in railway cars and are made up of relatively heavy floor boards laid across and secured in place upon theunderframe of the car.

An important object of my invention is to eliminate, in a floor of this type, the use of ordinary headed bolts'which project above the upper surface of the floor or have the heads countersunk in such surface, and to provide for attachment of the floor boards to the supporting framework in such manner that the top surfaces of the floor boards and a substantial subjacent portion of the oor boards remains unapertured and free of any metal parts that might interfere with the shaving or sanding of the floor to a uniform 4and smooth surface.

In some, if not all, railway cars, an even, smooth floorv surface is highly desirable if not requisite, but with prior constructions it has been necessary to contend with the bolt heads which presented an ever-present danger of damage to the floor shaver or sander. It has often been necessary to place a top surfacing or sole of light-weight flooring nailed down over the main floor board in order to eliminate such danger. By my invention, however, the complete elimination of vany metal parts at or adjacent the top surface of the floor board eliminates all danger of damage to the shaver or sander and without resorting to such expedients as a superpcsed sole or other precautions.

Another important object of my invention is to improve and simplify the attachment of the floor board over the body bolsters of a railwayl car. The body bolsters are generally of a width equal to three or four floor board widths, with the i'loor boards lying thereon longitudinally. Quite a problem is presented in securing the oor board down upon a bolster, because the bolsters are of relatively massive box-like construction, and considerable difficulty is experienced in gaining access to the threaded ends of the floor-boardsecuring bolts that project down through holes drilled through the top plate of the bolster. One common expedient' to minimize the number of floor board bolts through the bolster, has been to inlay vtransverse hold-down strips across the floor boards overlying the bolster and thus hold down three or four floor boards by means of a pair of bolts extending down through the end portions of each of the inlaid hold-down strips instead of requiring theY usual number of bolts to -hold down the individual boards. This is a fairly costly. operation calling forV the services of. a carpenter working with a hammer and; chisel to routeV out a transverse groove across the boards to receive theinlaid rhold-downstrip. My'invention eliminates suchA inlaying expedient and;` like complexities and provides for the/effective holdingr down ofk the. floor boards which overlie the bolster in a novel. manner which effectsv substantal savings in the cost of. installation..

Another object of the invention isi to provide a heavy-duty floor structure in` which the floor boards areconnected together inmulti-boardsections whichrequire.. less; bolting; to the support- .ing frameworkV and provide a morel uniform oor surface.v

A further. object is to. provide a novel. unitconne'cted heavy duty floor board. structure especially adapted for railwayl car orlike oors, which is readily adapted/forV direct boltingto' the supporting framework or whichmay be;l attached by means of floor clips.

Still another object ofthe invention isto effec important saving in the cost; of: materials; used in attaching. the floor boards to the supporting' framework, by the use of. simpler andless expensive materials to reduceV substantially the number of more expensive attachment partsfheretofore required.

Another object isto improve the lholdA upon the licor boards and-v increase the strength: andendurance of the licor by: completely. eliminating certain disadvantages resulting from the use of ordinary bolts which have al tendency to .pull down into or through the floor boards andv develop looseness between the Afloor boards andthe supporting frame under the strainof railway car lloor movement dueV to weavingstresses andthe 1A e. Y Y

Other; objects and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar Vparts throughout-.the several views.

Figure L is a., fragmentary top plan View of a railway car floor embodying.. the. features-of. my invention;

Fig. 2 is afragmentary top planview of a railway car floor showing a slightlymodifl'ed:arrangement embodying the invention;

Fia/3.- isan enlarged verticali sectional .view taken .substantially along. line 3--3of Fig.2;.

Fig; l is an enlarged vertical sectional. view taken substantially along line 4--4 f ofv Fig,` 2;.

, Fig; 5?..is-a. transverse verticalsectional-view taken Vsubstantially along line\5-5of Fig. .1;

2,337,278 J ff boards may be of about 2% inches thickness, y 5% inches width, and 9-foot length, are laid across the width of the car, andV generally proand `hat cars.

In 'the drawings, features of alb-oxv car under"- frame structure are shown more or lessschematically, based on the Association of American' "Railroads standard specifications. Included are side sills II and I2, a center'sill I3, intermediate V floor-sills I4, and a body bolster I5. Fig. 1 may be considered as showing one side of the car iloor,l

andFig. 2 theopposite side of the oor. Except 'for a diiferent manner of securing in place' the floor boards I0 which overlie the bolster I5, the

vide the only flooring for box cars,- stocllc'zars;v

eye heads of the bolts I 9, being such as to receive the heads entirely within the lower face plane of the boards, so as to avoid interference with the drawing up of supporting or iioor clip surfaces into tight, flush abutment against the areas of the lower faces of the floor boards, surrounding the slots. This arrangement leaves substantially the entire threaded Shanks of the bolts I9 depending clear of the lower board faces to receive nuts 22. Thereby floor clips 23 can be secured -tightly in place vagainst the iloor boards in such a manner as to attach the ooring to the side sills II and VI2 and the intermediate sills I4. The floor clips 23 are preferably of the type covered by MacLean Re. Patents 21,792 and 2,030,216, and each includes an apertured body to receive the bolt shank and to be secured against the floor board. An

. board-engaging portion of the clip, engages under the horizontal flange of the side or intermediate sill and draws the oor board down tight against respective nuts 22 to hold the latter against acdetails of construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are f "practicallyalike.` Y A According to my invention, instead of securing -each -of thefloor: boards vindividually to thecar underframe, the floor boards I0 are secured thereto -in multi-board unitsv A, thesize of which is dictated Vby convenience in hand1ing..f In the present instancefthese units are shown in Fig. 1 (except overithe bolster I5) 4andin Fig. 2 as comprising three floorboa'rds cooperating in edgeftof edge interengagement and endwise alignment and connected together by Yright-angularly transverse metal rods I'I which are received within'aligned `relatively` closely fitting bores I8 in the floorV boards. The bores vI8 are drilled parallel toand intermediate Vtheptop and bottom faces Lof the boards,V but preferably somewhat closer .tothe botttom than the top faces. are 'four of theconnecting rods Il for eachofthe floor board units A, one of the rods being located nadjacenteach ofthe respective ends of theunits fand.the;.othertwofrods being located adieenty -the transverse areas` of the board unitsiwhich prestupon the intermediate sills. By preference, the rods I'I arecut to length from'standard 1/2"V steelrod stock; ,f g f Eachofthe end rods I'Irofjthve boardmunit Arisv jengaged by a single one'o'f 'the eyebolts'f'lereceived within a longitudinally extending; vslot 2 I 11 formed centrally within the center board-, finter- V"setting the rod bore I8 Vand opening vthrough'the "bottom face of the board. W ,Y Y Y A.

In vorder to preserve fthe greatestpossible solid thickness of board between the innerrwalls ofi-the:

v slots '20 and 2I and thetop faces ofthe boards 'I 0,

'the slots should be' as shallow as practioableconsistentiwith free accommodation of the e'yeheads vof the'bolt's I9; As shown, the-depth of th'eslots By preference, therei Y cidental loosening rotation.

`While in the present instance the location of l the board-connecting rods vI1 and the bolts I9 has been predetermined to clear the respective edgesof the side and intermediate sills sufficiently to accommodate the oorclips 23, it will be clear that merely by shifting the location ofthe connecting rods and bolts to overlying or vcentered position relative to the engaged surfaces of the sills, the bolt VShanks-may be receivedgin appropriately located boltvr holes drilled through the sills. However, the useofithe Vfloor` clips 23 affords greater adaptability in construction and is not bound by the relatively close tolerances demanded by direct bolting to the sills.

j Another advantage of the use of the floor clips 23 is that after the practically inevitable shrinkage of the floor boards' following a period of use, the boards can be jacked tight to take up Yslack and receive fillerstrips or Vtake-up boards,

Vwithout requiring the redrillingof bolt holes.

It^may be noted that as a result of connecting the floor boards into the units A, a substantial numberof bolts and floor clips is saved, as compared with a floor structure in which the floor boards are individually secured to the under- Yframe,structuref In a three-board unit A, as

shown in Figs.' l and 2, only six bolts and clips -willfquitev securely attach the, floor boardunit in place, as'` compared to the nine bolts and clips which would berequired to secure Ythe three floor boards in place individually werethey not tied together by such means 'Aasthe rods IJ. For the conventional individually secured bda'rd-airangements, each board -is.supplied-with a bolt and a clip for securing jeachopposite end to theunderlying side sill, andl each-board -has .at

least one; bolt andclipiiorxfsecurement toaseelected, one'of the intermediatesills Ik By my invention, however, elyiwolrs. Per

Y -board are used, merely the outer-,boards 1of the units AA beingV SecuredA adjacent their ends to the side sills,v andionly the';intermediate boards being securedto the intermediate sills,;while;the

connecting `ro'dsf I1 are reliedupon for positively holdin-g" down those portions of the floorboard's,

' such as. the. ends of. theinte'rmediate floorjbjoards 20 an'dZIf is conditioned'by thefdiameter Vofthe-.175-

and .the int'errnediate portions: Qfftheotlteriloor in cost 'of material.

boards, whichV are' not directly secured to the sills. `'In fact, this arrangement provides a ystronger and more positive securement of the door boards, especially at the intermediate portions thereof where in the conventional construction no attachment to an intermediate Stringer would ordinarily be made, but Where according to the present invention the intermediate connecting rods I7 provide indirect though nevertheless positive and sturdy attachment to the intermediate sills for the outer boards of the floor board unit A as well as the intermediate board.

Another` distinct advantage of the reduction in number of bolts and clips resides in the saving In a three-board section A, this accrues from the substitution of the four Aconnecting rods il for three of the bolts l! or their equivalent and three of the clips 23. The rods I1 are a relatively inexpensive stock item and are utilized without any processing other than simply cutting them to the proper lengths. On the other hand, the bolts and clips which the rods replace require a substantial number of manufacturing operations in their production, and with regard to the oor clips, especially, require a higher grade and thus more expensive material.

My improved floor construction has very important advantages for securing in place the iioor boards l0 which directly overlie the body holsters I5 of the car underframe. The use of floor clips for securing these boards in place is, of course, precluded by the broad top plate of the bolster which extends longitudinally under the full widths of the boards. Therefore, even in door constructions where the clips 23 have been used for the remaining boards of the hoor, the bolstercovering door boards have had to be bolted directly to the top plate of the bolster. This is a dlflicult matter, however, because of the box construction of the bolsterl and the cramped working space 'within which the nuts 22 of the bolts must be tightened inside of the bolster by access through necessarily relatively small side hand-holes 28 (Figs. 3 and 4).. For this reason some car builders have adopted the practice of inlaying transverse board strips across the boards overlying the bolster and then bolting down the ends of such strips. In this way they reduce the number of bolts that must be worked through the bolster because ofv the elimination of any bolts to hold down the boards which are traversed by the intermediate portions of the holddown inlay strips.

By the use of my invention, also, the number of bolts that must beworked through the bolster is kept at a minimum, but there is no need for the costly expedient of inlaying wooden. strips across the boards. In addition, the top surfaces of the board are kept entirely free and clear of bolt heads or other metal parts or countersunk holes.

As shown in Fig. 2, the preferred three-board unit arrangement is adhered to even over the bolster l5, with the threaded shanks of the bolts I9 extending down through bolt holes 29 in the top plate of the bolster and the nuts 22 screwed on in the usual way by access through the openings 28 in the sides of the bolster (Fig. 4).

Where conditions will permit, I prefer to avoid entirely the necessity for bolting through the top plate of the bolster, but employ floor clips engaging the side wings or flanges at the top of the bolster or the adjacent sill flanges. Such an karrangementis shown in Figs. 1 and 5 and comprises herein a unit of floor boards of suiicient width to extend sidewise beyond the top edges of the bolster. In this instance therbolster is of a slightly greater width than the combined width of three of the floor boards IB. Therefore a loor board unit B composed of tive floor boards is used, connected together by means of rods 3Q extending through alined transverse bores 3l in the door boards, and located at points which lie between the side sills and the intermediate sills and between the side sills and the center sill, respectively. Thus, the bolts i9 need engage the rods 3B only in the outermost two boards of the unit and will entirely clear all parts of the underframe. Floor clips 32 secured in place by these bolts can then engage the vtop side wings or flanges of the bolster. Such top anges may be of substantially greater thickness than the sill anges and for this purpose the clips 32 will, of course, have to be formed with a substantially increased Aoffset between the board-engaging and hangs-engaging portions thereof. Alternatively, the connecting rods 30 may be positioned adjacent the side sills and the intermediate sills, respectively, similarly as the tie rods l? of the remaining board unit A, so that the clips 33 can be used to engage the side sills and intermediate sills. In either event, the result is that the bolster units B are secured firmly in place Without `direct bolting through the bolster.

In assembling the eye bolts I9 with either of the iioor board units A or B, it is necessary, of course, to locate the bolt eyes within the slots 20 or2l, as the case may be, and thereafter push the respectively associated rods l 'l into place through the eyes. This may be done most conveniently at the time that the board units are assembled. However, even though the slots 2B and 2| m-ay be long enough to receive the bolt Shanks therein when swung `down for stacking the board units, there may be occasions where the bolt shank may offer disadvantageous protuberances in handling the units prior to or during installation. Moreover, should the bolts stick within the slots 2d and 2l and not swing down freely into attaching position when the units are being installed, the workmen may suffer some delay in prying them out. These are, of course, only relatively very minor drawbacks, but they are overcome by the modified form of construction shown in Figs. '7 and 8 where the use of a slightly modified hook bolt 33 is shown to replace the eye bolt already described. By preference the hooked head ofthe bolt 33 is formed similarly as the eye bolt lil but with the free end of the head loop shortened to a point approximately in line with the side of the shank. This provides a suicient hook for adequate rod engagement and is probably every bit as strong as the eye head of the bolt I9 but saves rod stock and alords the advantage that the bolt 33 may be hooked in place on the rods l1 (or 3B, as the case may be) after the board unit has been located in place upon the underframe and as an incident to securing the board unit in place by means of the iioor clips 23 or 32.

Instead of a slot for receiving the hook bolt 33, I prefer to utilize a round ibore 3d (round, because that is easier to make by a simple drilling operation). The bore 34 should'be as shallow as practicable and has its side wall spaced from one side of the rod Il (preferably the side nearest the edge of the frame member to be enga-ged) just far enough'` so that the hooked head of the bolt can clear through the space between the bore wall and the connecting rod when the bolt is `tilted over to the extreme limit permitted by the mouth of the bore, as shown in dot-dash outline in Fig. 7, and is moved up into the bore with a hooking motion onto the connecting rod. AThe ,only way the bolt can then be disengaged from the rod is by a reversal of the hooking `motion Ywhich'requires the boltf to be swung over to the Yextreme limit to which position it is not likely to swing` accidentally. Thus, even though the hook bolts 33 may be placed in advance of attaching the floor clips 23 or 32 and the floor unit 'is subjected to considerable jostling while the bolts are hanging down therefrom, there will be `top surface and a substantial thickness of the floor boards below the top surface are maintained free from bolt heads or other metal prominences that might prove damaging to or interfere with the operation of a scraper or sander for smoothing the oor. A railway car in which, by the use of my invention, the floor surface is completely free from any exposed metal in oron Vthe surface, is thus adapted for the shipment of many classes of commodities such as explosives, which, for Vthe sakezof safety, must not be shipped in any VVcar where the oorhas metal, suchV as bolt heads, exposed;v VThe result is also a oor surface which is entirely free from bolt holes, bolt hole fillers, inlays, orthe like.

Since the floor boards -of the multi-board units are tied together by the straight connecting rods, a better surface alignment is maintained than where each boardV is individually secured Yto the underframe. The better distribution of pulling force through the medium of the transverse connecting'rods secures a firmer and less yieldable Yhold upon the oor boards than with individual bolts, the board-engaging area of the heads of which is necessarily quite limited. There is also tensive underframe members suchas the lbolsters i of a railway car.

f tions.

-modications, and alternative constructions, I

have shown in the drawings; and have herein described-in detail certain preferred embodiments,

,but it' is'to be understood that I do not thereby .intend tolimit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications and alternative yconstructions falling within the spirit and scope lof the invention as expressed in Athe following claims. f `1 What rI-claimas vnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Inja floor construction, a supporting framework; a plurality of floor boards cooperating in edge-to-edge relation to constitute a plurality of board units; each 'of said boards having formed therein a plurality of spaced apart straight horizontal transverse bores lying substantially away from the upper and lower faces of the board; the transverse bores of each board being aligned with corresponding bores of the other boards of the same unit; certain boards of each unit being provided in their lower faces with blind openings which intersect and extend upwardly slightly aboverthe transverse bores of such boards;

boltsV having rod embracing heads lying Within said blind openings and Shanks depending from said openings; devices cooperating with the Shanks of said bolts for attaching the latter to the frame at appropriate points; and rods occupying, and 4being longitudinally movable in, the aligned transverse bores of the boards of each unit and embraced by the heads of the bolts associated with that unit; the rods, bolts and the devices which cooperate with the bolt Shanks as aforesaid constituting the board unit fastening instrumentalities; and each of said rods being of substantially uniform thickness from end to end, bridging all the joints between the boards of the unit with which it is associated, and having a length less than the width of the board unit with which it is associated; whereby the boards of any unit maybe jacked tightly together, in situ, to .take up board shrinkage without necessarily dis- 'be disengaged from the rods when the bolts are swung away from their normal depending posi- MICHAEL F. SCHMITZ. 

